01 December 2016

After eleven (!) years in the same job--through 2 relocations and 8 product versions--I'm moving to FileMaker's marketing team. I've been sitting on this news since October; while it's been an open secret around the office, I couldn't go public until everything was officially official. Which it finally is.

I start the new role on January 3. Between now and then I'll continue working with our sales team and customers while dipping my toe into all my new responsibilities. Actually, I think it will be more like wading in up to my knees and hoping I don't get too wet. I'll be leading our online community, coordinating speakers for our annual developer conference, and other projects as they come up.

27 November 2016

I wasn't nearly as productive during my week off as I'd hoped. Here's what I accomplished:

Warped loom and wove off about half of the warp (color samples and 3 towels).

Cooked Thanksgiving dinner, including 3 pies.

Cleaned studio for a few hours.

Knit most of a sock foot.

Piles and piles of laundry.

I ended up watching more football than planned with a cat and no knitting on my lap. And reading more news and Facebook than I really wanted to.

This week, I'm recommitting to consciously using social media and news apps--this weekend I slipped back into the mindless surfing habit, and my creative productivity, sense of well being, and blogging suffered as a result. I've set 3 non-work goals for this week to keep me on track--and I'' sharing them for a bit of public accountability.

23 November 2016

Today, I started preparations for our small feast tomorrow. I baked two pies (pumpkin and cherry). There was too much pumpkin pie filling for the collapsed crust, so David and I shared baked pumpkin custard with baked pie crust scraps for dessert tonight.

Mid-afternoon, I decided to make my new favorite Shaker lemon pie (with backyard Meyer lemons) even though it wasn't on the original plan. I sliced 4 or 5 small lemons (about 12 ounces total weight) and macerated them in 2 cups sugar. And I made one batch of pie crust. Tomorrow morning I'll add 3 beaten eggs to the lemons, put them in the crust and bake the pie.

While the cherry pie was in the oven, I made the first batch of caramels. I'm sure Dad is already ahead of me by several, but I'll catch up over this weekend and next.

Now my house smells like its the holidays (vanilla, hot sugar, and more vanilla).

22 November 2016

I spent yesterday happily being productive. I looked up at about midnight and realized that I hadn't even thought about writing a blog post. Ditching bad habits and making better ones is tricky. And making writing a habit is even harder for me for all kinds of reasons.

I did not accomplish everything I set out to yesterday, but I'm happy with what I did accomplish. I sampled colors for the new warp and decided on 4. I reorganized a few shelves in the studio to make room for my most recent weaving yarn order and unpacked a box of counted cross stitch books (I decided to get rid of almost all of them). Then I spent 3 hours making dinner--which was not at all my plan.

I also spent a bit too much time watching TV while being a cat bed. And obsessively reading news.

Today, I wove two towels and braved Trader Joe's for Thanksgiving supplies. I decided that I'd rather weave than make pie crust and rolls tomorrow. Don't judge me.

18 November 2016

After dinner, I sat down to start threading. And quickly figured out that I calculated 8 * 4 + 2 * 2 = 34 when I wound the two outer warp sections two weeks ago. Not 36. At least this is a pretty easy problem to overcome with a couple of intarsia bobbins (which I haven't used for knitting in at least 20 years) and a couple of shower curtain rings for weight.

As my friend Jen always says, MIT teaches mathematics, and not arithmetic. And I took as little math as I could get away with for my political science degree.

I'll wait for daylight to start threading. I finally understand why Nonny used to hand me her needles to thread when we stitched side by side in the evenings. When did all those individual threads become so fuzzy and hard to see?

17 November 2016

Warping is a bit of a challenge in my small, overcrowded studio. After I play a bit of tetris to clear enough space (loom bench and desk chair out of the way, sewing machine under the loom bench, and boxes precariously stacked) across the room to spread out, I can start.

I have little sectioned box that I drop warp sections into as I wind them. I separate the sections with those annoying subscription reply cards that come in every magazine. For ease of winding, I made each section 36 ends since that's the width of each color stripe. There are 11 total sections for this batch of towels.

I push that little box as far away from the loom as I can and load 2 sections at a time into the raddle. (I just figured the two section trick out tonight.)

Finally, I start winding onto the back beam. To help keep even tension as I wind on, I run the warp under a box full of magazines and books. (The four cones on the floor my weft color candidates for these towels.)

As you can see, there's not much working room because I have too much yarn and fiber. I'm slowly (much too slowly, if you ask David) using up, selling, donating, or giving away things I'm sure I'll never use. I'm planning on getting rid of more stuff and rearranging the studio furniture during my time off next week. Who knows if that will actually happen.

16 November 2016

I hoped to start warping the loom tonight. Instead, I went to yoga after work, stopped for groceries on the way home, cooked dinner, and went for a short walk with David. And now it's nearly bedtime. How is it that it's nearly 10:00 pm, and I haven't created today?

At work, I feel like I spent all day reading and triaging email, as you do the day after vacation. There are still a few messages left to read and act on.

The only bright spots tonight are that the cats have forgiven us for leaving them with a stranger. And this box of possibility came while we were away. Holiday towels for everyone!

15 November 2016

I'm at a bit of a loss tonight. We're home from vacation, and I'm between many things. Vacation and work. Projects on the loom. Projects at work. Weekends. Napping cats (Toni snores). The beginning and end of November and NaBloPoMo.

Early this morning, we walked between the moon and the sun and between the ocean and the mountain.

I'm holding onto the peace and calm and optimism I gathered over the past 6 days for as long as I can. I hope it holds up to a day back in the office.

14 November 2016

Even though we are pale and sun-phobic, the tropical ocean calls to David and me. Just hearing the surf day and night lowers my blood pressure. Seeing and smelling the ocean has a deeper effect.

Yesterday , I took a solo walk on the beach. Inspired by another beach goer, I found the shade of a tree and did a little yoga while watching for sea turtles and whales. I saw a turtle, but no whales; it's a bit early for them.

Today, we did our usual last day of vacation activity we rented an oceanside cabana with comfy lounge chairs and shade until mid-afternoon. The surf is still to high for safe swimming at our resort's beach, but we dodged waves and got our feet wet in the Pacific one last time.

13 November 2016

The super moon rising over the West Maui Mountains. Looking up and out--rather than down.

Even though we are surrounded by natural beauty, I've spent too much time looking down at my phone this weekend. So much time since Wednesday that my upper back and neck are hunched and sore. Inspired by this article I read this afternoon, I'm adding these yoga poses to my daily practice in an effort to correct it and open my heart. And I'm trying to remember to look forward and not down.

During my week (almost) away from (compulsively checking) social media, I was more productive and more focused. I finished things; I cooked; and I took good care of myself. Since Tuesday, I've been unproductive, scattered, and tense. I will continue to read the news--but through my own filter rather than that of my friends and acquaintances. I also set my watch to remind me to breathe every 3 hours--during those breaks I will breath and stretch and continue opening all those messed up muscles.

12 November 2016

We spent this morning watching the ocean. No pictures because the surf is high, and I've already killed one phone this month. This afternoon, we browsed the Saturday art market (and bought a few gifts) and napped.

The past several weeks of intense work and other stress have taken their toll on us, and we are recovering slowly. This weekend, I need to keep closing my eyes and creating strength for the challenges ahead.

11 November 2016

Thank you to all the veterans in my extended family and my network of friends. I deeply appreciate your service and sacrifices in defense of the Constitution.

Every year I think this. This is the first year I've made a public thank you.

Grandpa Warden enlisted before World War Two. He served with his brothers and the Greatest Generation and then came home and quietly built things. Four uncles served in Vietnam. Three cousins and my sister in law served more recently; Robin (Wednesday's scarf recipient) is active duty Army still.

My most intense memory of 0ur first trip to Hawaii is visiting Punchbowl Cemetery. The rows of white headstones, many inscribed "Unknown, Dec. 7 1941," brought home the risk and sacrifice of military service to me even more than visiting the Arizona Memorial did.

09 November 2016

Today was grim after yesterday's optimism. I broke my Facebook fast because I needed to see and share what my tribe was thinking and feeling. The same things I am: grief, disbelief, and a strong desire to fight for our values and beliefs and do better for all our citizens.

Mid afternoon, my phone alerted me to a message. With this photo

It's my cousin Robin. He jokingly requested "homespun houndstooth" in response to a weaving photo I posted a few weeks ago. I offered this too warm for California but perfect for Illinois scarf I wove in my beginning weaving class last December. I love everything about this scarf--even more now that I know it will be worn and loved.

If I do nothing else for the next four years, I will keep making things and sending them out into the world to warm the people I love.

07 November 2016

I haven't formally participated in the Me Made Monday challenge, but I aspire to. And I'm a lazy blogger who has a pile of California propositions to study tonight. So I found a half-baked post about a sweater I finished over 4 years ago and then never wore because it had problems. I did fix it and add it to my wardrobe. Here's it's story.

The sweater is a cute pattern, but the wide neck of the yoke constantly slipped off of my shoulders. The designer was in my SOAR 2012 workshop, and she recommended crocheting around the neck to tighten things up when she saw me wearing this sweater. Thanks to multiple moves in a short time, I spent at least a year with either the sweater, the leftover yarn, or a crochet hook to hand, but never all three at the same time. Eventually, I found my stash of Nonny's crochet hooks and the leftover yarn. Then, I cut apart the top of the keyhole, unraveled the excess i-cord, and grafted again. Then I ran a croched slip stitch all the way around the neck. Voila, a sweater that sits properly on my shoulders.

The details, or proof that I did sometimes finish sweaters during the long years of bloggy silence.

Pattern: Ruched T from Interweave Knits, Spring 2011Yarn: Vermont Fiber Company 0-wool balance. (Now available from o-wool)Time: Knitting February 2011 - March 2012. Less than 1 hour to fix on January 2, 2015.Comments: This was a fun knit and I do love the style and fit of the fixed sweater. I got stalled early on because I needed to figure out short rows for the bust, and they're perfect.

06 November 2016

David spent Friday in Washington, DC and the weekend in Boston. He tormented me with pictures of some of our favorite places and descriptions of the sights and smells of fall on the east coast. So I came up with two things I love about where we live now.

1. Long Sunday afternoon walks in interesting places. Today I met a friend for a 4 mile walk along the East Bay shoreline.

2. Backyard citrus trees. I'm still figuring out how to maintain them (we killed one of the four that came with the house), but I did enough pruning, feeding, and watering this spring and summer that the remaining three are producing fruit.

05 November 2016

Every warp, I think I'm getting a little bit better at weaving, and then I take the cloth off of the loom and realize just how much more I have to learn. As I wove these blue towels, everything looked OK on the loom--even beat, nice selvedges, no skips. Near the end of the warp, a few threads were suddenly looser than their neighbors and by the very end the fell was wavy. When I took the web off the loom this afternoon, I discovered that I beat the first two towels lighter than the later ones. I think the beat was the same, but those first two are sleazier--and longer, since the pattern was for a number of picks--than the last five. There are skipped threads. And the selvedges are not nearly as neat as I thought they were. My fingers are crossed that all the issues will improve after finishing.

Following the advice of Sara Lamb and other weavers I know, making a weaver is all about frequent practice. Put on lots of warps. Weave frequently. Lather, rinse, repeat.

So far this year, I've chosen published towel projects--I usually put on longer warps and change up the colors--but I'm not designing yet. I'm learning the mechanics of warping and weaving. After today, I feel like I'll never get there.

This draft is from Handwoven Mar/Apr 2016--Ozark Quilter Towels draft #3. I used two shades of blue with turquoise, pale green, and purple for the contrast picks. I wove at 20 epi instead of the 16 epi used in the pattern based on my previous experience with Webs 8/2 cotton in plainweave. I like the half basketweave hems on these towels. It's easy to turn under evenly and makes a nice contrast with the body of the towel. Out of an 8 yard warp, I got 6 full length towels and one shorter one. A sensible person would have stopped at 6. These are gifts, so I wanted to use the last bit of warp as a record for myself of what I did--so the last towel has stripes of every contrast color.

In May, I wove this draft in different colors for my mom. I don't actually know how those came out because I delivered them to her just off the loom with hemming and finishing instructions. She says that she loves them--enough to take some with her to Arizona for the winter.

04 November 2016

Over the past 17 years, I've made a blanket for each of my nieces and nephews. I try to deliver them at about the time each kid graduated from crib to bed or when the oldest's world was massively disrupted by younger siblings. Clockwise from left: Tamarix Quilt for Miss Z, Rambling Rows for Master A, and Chevrons for Miss T. Pre-blog and a few computers ago I made 3 others; I tried to find pictures of those tonight with no luck. Over the years I've caught these blankets in action for blanket forts and naps. I've repaired them. I treasure the photos I have of my favorite kids with their blankets.

The last one (unless someone suddenly has another baby) is on the needles right now. For some reason, I decided to knit another garter stitch log cabin variant; this time the Parcheesi Afghan. I expect to spend as much time assembling and weaving in ends as I will knitting. Since it's my exclusive project for this month (and is suitably brainless for after work TV), I hope to finish it this month. I sped through log cabin squares during the summer and started the stripey borders a few weeks ago.

Before I could start all those striped sections, I finally made a blanket for myself. I loved knitting the Vintage Missoni Inspired Chevron Blanket for Miss T, so I planned one for myself when I found out that Cascade had discontinued their cotton-wool blend Sierra and Webs had it on closeout. I spent a lovely hour in the warehouse playing with color for the last niece blanket and my own. Since there is some color crossover, and my blanket had a specific plan, I needed to finish mine before I could complete Miss A's. I love it! For something so big, it's a quick knit. I made this one in about 10 weeks. Considering it was an at home only project, that's speedy for me these days. All the details are in Ravelry.

03 November 2016

This article--Social Media and the Deliberate Life--landed in my inbox this morning. That headline resonates with how I've been feeling about life for the past week or so, and I read just about everything Stever Robbins posts. He's my personal productivity guru. It's a 2 minute read. I'll wait.

I know I've been wasting time lately, but I didn't realize how all those short intervals add up over a year. I frequently find myself short of mental capacity at the end of the work day. If I have a simple project on the needles, I'll happily pick it up and zone out to home improvement, sports, or something else with low engagement on TV. My problem happens when the current projects require a decision or two and I just can't think that hard. Then, I turn on the tv and play with my phone or iPad checking Facebook, Ravelry, Twitter, or playing low brain puzzle games. Why do I this?

I haven't done this this week. Monday, I came home frustrated and banged on the loom a bit before dinner. Yesterday, I went to yoga class after work for the first time in months (I had a doctor ordered hiatus for most of this year due to a shoulder injury). In both cases I then put together some dinner and was productive for the rest of the evening. That hour of breathing or creating cleared my brain just enough to carry through until bed time. Today, I ran an errand after work, and I stopped for tea while I was out and about. Same head clearing result; I came home and drafted two blog posts before dinner. After dinner I wove a bit and then started winding the next warp.

There's something to be said for replacing one no brain activity with a better, more productive, one. I'm accepting Stever's simple challenge for the next three weeks. I'll be on vacation for one of those weeks, so in some ways it's a two week challenge with a week to reset habits in the middle.

Choose what to stop. Where are you spending your time out of habit or addiction, yet getting little joy from it? Does your time on social media give you enough joy to warrant the time? Are there hobbies that you’ve outgrown? Friends who have diverged? TV shows that just fill time?

Eliminate one. Just for a few weeks.

I will stop playing those addictive iPhone games. I have already deleted my 2 favorites.

I will not log into Facebook until after I've written my NaBloPoMo post. I won't stop completely since I'm finding blog post inspiration in a few writing groups. Those and the posts about making things give me plenty of joy. I just need to skim past the news.

Start something better. Replace it with something that brings you joy, that moves your life forward. Maybe something old that would bring you joy to revisit. Or something new you’ve wanted to do but never gotten around to.

If I truly have very little brain, I will turn off the TV and pull out the yoga mat. The only way my shoulder will fully recover is if I start using it carefully. After that, I can turn on the TV and pull out my knitting or spinning.

If I do have brain, I will write, weave, or do something else to connect with my creativity instead of sitting.

Want to join me and compare notes on the day after Thanksgiving? I will do this for three weeks.

02 November 2016

Going to the New York Sheep and Wool festival has always been a treat for me. Even when we lived in the northeast, I did not attend the festival every year. The first year I knew about it (mid-1990s), David and I flew over the festival on a Saturday afternoon adventure in our small plane, but I didn't get to explore on the ground. David and I made a trip or two when he was in school. I drove up with friends from DC in 2009. Three years ago, I ran away from the chaos of getting our house ready to sell to bid farewell to fall in the Hudson River Valley and many friends.

This year, the stars aligned me to to to Rhinebeck. My vacation time balance has been hovering near the maximum all year thanks to no SOAR. I have a big bank of frequent flier miles thanks to too much business travel. Most important, friends invited me to stay with them in Red Hook for the weekend. I worked until 2 hours before a red eye flight to New York Thursday night. I took the train from NYC to Rhinebeck and savored the beauty of the Hudson River and the bare hint of red at the top of the cliffs across the river in New Jersey on Friday.

This year, I focused on spending time with friends. I spent a lot of time at a picnic table catching up with my Ravelry tribe. I wandered the barns with the friends I stayed with and saw everything through 9 year old eyes. I soaked up the riot of color in the barns, on the fair-goers, and in the trees. I looked at yarn and almost always thought I have something just like it at home. I fondled fleeces without buying; it's easy to resist when faced with stuffing 8 pounds of raw wool into a tiny suitcase and hauling it back across the country. I admired sweaters but cannot recall any in detail. I probably missed seeing and talking to more friends than those I bumped into. I took surprisingly few pictures. I unwound and played in the leaves. I ate all the treats: apple crisp, cannoli, bratwurst, lamb stew, artichokes French, maple cotton candy, and apple cider donuts.

After Rhinebeck, I spent three days in New York City. I saw a few colleagues, ate well, went to the Cooper-Hewitt, and walked all over the place. It's been a long time since I spent any non-work time in New York.

In the end, I did buy one bump of fiber, the festival tote bag, some soap, and an irresistible curly maple Travel Kate. More importantly, I came home full of hugs and joy and inspiration.

01 November 2016

On November 1, 2015, Diane delivered her Gilmore loom to me (because she bought her retirement loom). One year later, I'm hooked.

I took a weaving class last winter to learn the basics and have spent most of the past year exploring on my own. I've churned out a few scarves, many samples, and a dozen or so dish towels.

Really, the past year has been about making a weaver more than about making anything specific. When work took over my life this summer and the project on the loom needed brain, progress stopped. Only when faced with the need for a hostess gift did I finish that batch of towels.

Since it's November and I really do want to write again, I'm challenging myself to post every day and then to try to stick with the habit of exercising that writing muscle regularly after November. Most posts will be about my usual topics--what I'm making or where I'm visiting--with a few recipes and other thoughts tossed in for fun.

Right now, I've got to run off curl (because weaving and spinning are weird enough hobbies). Talk to you tomorrow.